The delivery of media over data networks such as the Internet is in high demand. This is due, in large part, to much of the media being advertisement (“ad”) supported. This even applies to streamed live content.
The insertion of ads and other on-demand content into a stream of live content can be difficult. The unpredictable nature of live content can result in corresponding unpredictability of points in the live content at which ads may be shown. Furthermore, because live content can be generated for hours, weeks, or longer, the timestamps associated with live will not be synchronized with the timestamps of ads (or other on-demand content) inserted into the stream of live content. This can cause problems for some clients during playback.